This invention relates to self-standing, sound-reflective shell tower and shell tower transporter systems wherein the towers are of the type which are used on stage to enhance the performance of orchestras, bands, choruses and dramatic groups. Such acoustical shells typically comprise a plurality of movable panel modules which are placed in side by side relation in abutting relationship to provide an overall shell structure. Typically, overhead sound reflective ceilings are provided for such shells. The following listed patents, which I incorporate herein by reference, disclose various portable sound shell units:
______________________________________ 2,671,242 Lewis 3,007,539 Brewer et al 3,180,446 Wenger 3,232,370 Jaffe 3,435,909 Wenger et al 3,630,309 Wenger et al 3,975,850 Giaume 3,908,787 Wenger et al 4,108,455 James 4,278,145 Eade et al 5,069,011 Jenne 5,168,129 D'Antonio ______________________________________
In many of the prior art structures, caster wheel assemblies have been fixed to the panel modules themselves, with certain disadvantages encountered as a result, including a requirement for undue storage space and distortion of the caster wheels which have to support the considerable weight of the panel modules in one position without rotating over a protracted period such as school summer vacation.
The present invention is concerned with acoustical shell tower and transporter systems and their components, the transporter component being useful for individually lifting the towers and transporting them between erected and stored positions, and for placing them in a unique nested stored configuration in which the transporter also is capable of nesting during storage.